Google is planning to enter the U.S power market: Bloomberg

By Claudia Assis

Google Inc. is looking to make a deeper push into the billion-dollar U.S. energy market by developing tools to deliver power more efficiently, Bloomberg News said, citing people familiar with the plans.

Google
/quotes/zigman/30194416/delayed/quotes/nls/googGOOG, long an investor in clean energy, is in the early stages of building software and hardware to manage power lines and other infrastructure, Bloomberg said. Google’s Energy Access team is taking the lead in that, the news agency added.

The U.S. electric grid has delivered reliable energy for decades, but there’s hope that a “smart grid” would improve it. Constant communication between the power network and homes and businesses would cut down on waste and inefficiencies.

Moreover, as solar and wind power become more prevalent, the grid would need to become “smarter” and more flexible to handle the peaks and valleys of renewable energy.

In January, Google spent $3.2 billion to buy Nest Labs Inc., a home automation company, seen as a bid to strengthen its position in the “Internet of things” market. The Internet giant has invested more than $1 billion in solar and wind projects across the globe.

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Energy Ticker is MarketWatch’s blog about the energy industry and investing in energy companies. It’s meant to serve as a guide for investors looking for the newest, most important and market moving news and information on the industry. Hosted by lead writer and veteran reporter Claudia Assis, Energy Ticker hopes to be the essential guide for those interested in the global business of powering our planet.